Three Chinese charged with attempting to bribe Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission detectives with Sh500, 000 to influence investigations in their favor have lost a fight to be released on bond in a Mombasa court.

Li Gen, Li Xiaowu and Sun Xin lost their application to be released on bond before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Julius Nangea who concurred with state lawyer Nelson Igonga that they are a flight risk.

“The prosecution fear that the accused persons can disappear in case they are fired by their employer,” said Nangea.

The magistrate also found that since the accused had no fixed residence in the country, it would be very difficult to get hold of them to come and attend their trial.

The three who face ten years imprisonment or a fine of Sh1 million each have denied that on November 22 at the Standard Gauge Railway Terminus, being employees of China Road and Bridge Corporation jointly offered financial advantage of Sh500, 000 to Inspector Andrew Warui and his team as inducement to influence investigation in their favor.

They also denied the second charge of jointly offering Sh200, 000 to Andrew Warui in an attempt to influence an ongoing investigation in their favour.

The accused who are being represented by Wamuti Ndegwa and Nelson Stonik had pleaded for bond on grounds they were not a flight risk.

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They asked the court to release them on bond and promised they would attend the trial until its conclusion. They also assured court that they would abide by the conditions set for them.

The defence insisted the accused had a right to bail as was stipulated in the constitution and voluntarily surrendered their passports to EACC.